Dow Edges Higher; US Weekly Jobless Claims Increase

U.S. stocks traded slightly higher this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 0.2% on Thursday.

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.03% to 44,887.97 while the NASDAQ rose 0.20% to 19,731.74. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.20% to 6,073.57.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer staples shares surged by 0.6% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, utilities shares fell by 0.5%.

Top Headline

U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 11,000 from the previous week to 219,000 in the final week of January, compared to market estimates of 213,000.

Equities Trading UP
                       

• Lipella Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:LIPO) shares shot up 96% to $5.15 after the company received FDA approval for an expanded access program for LP-310 in oral lichen planus.
• Shares of Quantum BioPharma Ltd. (NASDAQ:QNTM)got a boost, surging 83% to $15.72. Quantum Biopharma licensee Celly Nutrition retained leading New York Investment Bank to advise on capital raise and possible initial public offering following highly positive results from unbuzzd™ clinical study.
• Digital Turbine, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPS) shares were also up, gaining 63% to $4.1285 after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results and raised its FY25 sales guidance.

Equities Trading DOWN

• ReTo Eco-Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:RETO) shares dropped 41% to $0.4854. ReTo Eco-Solutions recently announced the receipt of Nasdaq delisting determination.
• Shares of Sensus Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRTS) were down 31% to $6.20 after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results.
• Avinger, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGR) was down, falling 31% to $0.3893.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.6% to $71.45 while gold traded down 0.4% at $2,880.90.

Silver traded down 1.6% to $32.440 on Thursday, while copper rose 0.1% to $4.4450.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.7%, Germany's DAX 40 gained 0.8% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.9%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.8%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 1.6%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.61%, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbing 1.27%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gaining 1.43% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.27%.

Economics

• U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 11,000 from the previous week to 219,000 in the final week of January, compared to market estimates of 213,000.
• U.S. unit labor costs rose 3.0% in the fourth quarter following a 0.5% gain in the third quarter.
• U.S. nonfarm business sector labor productivity rose by 1.2% in the fourth quarter compared to a revised gain of 2.3% in the previous quarter.
• U.S. employers announced job cuts of 49,795 in January up from 38,792 in the previous month.

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